COMMUNICATIONS Minister Fahmi Fadzil said no ministers nor their deputies were involved in selecting U Mobile Sdn Bhd as the country's second 5G network provider.
He said the selection of U Mobile to develop the second 5G network also did not breach any stipulated conditions.
"The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) evaluated U Mobile's tender independently.
"MCMC implemented a thorough selection process from a technical and commercial aspect in selecting a mobile network operator to implement the country's second 5G network," he told Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang) during Dewan Rakyat's Ministers' Question Time.
Hassan had asked whether U Mobile’s selection as the second network provider was influenced by “any particular individuals within the company”, without naming anyone in particular.
Fahmi also said that foreign equity holdings in U Mobile are within the compliance range of the special licence conditions issued to the company.
"The general requirements for foreign equity holding in individual licences for network facility providers and network service providers were capped at 49 per cent, with Bumiputera ownership mandated at a minimum of 30 per cent," he said.
He said U Mobile was selected based on several factors, including its business and technical proposals, track record in customer satisfaction, and experience with other infrastructure initiatives.
This included the company's contribution to the Jendela Phase 1 and 4G upgrading projects.
MCMC still needs to address glaring concerns
Analysts meanwhile said MCMC has still failed to address glaring concerns over why U Mobile - a telco with fewer sites, subscribers and revenue was selected over Maxis and CelcomDigi.
CIMB Securities in its note today said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) decision came as a surprise to the firm and the market.
"Maxis or CDB (to a lesser degree) were widely expected to win, being the two largest MNOs in Malaysia (in terms of subscribers and earnings, with relatively stronger balance sheets)," it said.
Maxis, which had been considered the front-runner for the second network, said yesterday it would hold talks with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on the rationale for its decision. - November 7, 2024
